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Leejay-b

Reliability putting me off the 86.

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The BRZ / GT86 has been on my radar since release.

I am being put off by the long list of potential issues which I know the internet makes worse but some seem common and even if not they could be very expensive...

Minor:

1.Rust near rear quarter window

2.Rust under bonnet strip

3.Oil leaks

Major: NOTE I will be staying N/A if that reduces any of the following risks:

1.Fuel pump

2.Con rods 

3.Con rod bearings

4.Oil starvation

5.Injector seals

6.Coil packs

Oh dear quite a list. With that many majors I think I will have to drop thoughts of one of these cars which is a shame as I am a big fan :-(

 

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1 hour ago, Leejay-b said:

The BRZ / GT86 has been on my radar since release.

I am being put off by the long list of potential issues which I know the internet makes worse but some seem common and even if not they could be very expensive...

Minor:

1.Rust near rear quarter window

2.Rust under bonnet strip

3.Oil leaks

Major: NOTE I will be staying N/A if that reduces any of the following risks:

1.Fuel pump

2.Con rods 

3.Con rod bearings

4.Oil starvation

5.Injector seals

6.Coil packs

Oh dear quite a list. With that many majors I think I will have to drop thoughts of one of these cars which is a shame as I am a big fan :-(

 

To address some of the issues you've mentioned the rust is near the front quarter light not the rear and is a very minor issue remedied on the build of the later cars. Rust under the bonnet strip seems hit and miss, some simple protection seems to avoid the issue or, if the car is affected, the part is very cheap to replace. Oil leaks generally come from the cam plate cover at the rear of the engine. This can be resealed or a better quality plate fitted (also a cheap part). 

The engine issues you've identified are rare and mainly confined to fi cars apart from the coil packs but even that isn't that common (I've never had one go in over 5 years of ownership and my car has been tracked quite regularly). The fuel pump can be a little noisy but again that doesn't cause any issues itself. 

A lot of the engine problems you've mentioned seem more common on the US forums. In over 5 years of active membership of the forums I can probably count on the fingers of one hand the amount of times people have had issues with those things (apart from the coil pack which is a little more common but again isn't a majorly expensive fix). 

If you're interested in an 86 I'd genuinely not let any of the issues you've highlighted put you off as in the vast majority of cases they are simple non issues. 

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Most of these issues should have been sorted under warranty by previous owners. I must admit I'm not familiar with a lot of those you listed. 

However, there is an issue I have encountered and apparently others have reported it. The electric windows scratching the glass. 

I'm not impressed with the amount of issues I have had owning my gt86. Some common and some that only I have encountered as far as I know. Compared to my previous car swift sport, I had absolutely no issues with owning it for 4 or 5 years. I regret selling it. 

I've had the rust under bonnet.

The scratching of electric windows.

The rubber door sill on drivers side gets pulled away from seal when window closes. 

When you put the rear seats flat and then put them back. The latches/buttons almost come lose. 

I guess we can all list the battery as an issue? Or maybe it was intended to be a low capacity battery. 

 

Edit: maybe I'm nitpicking, but I expect better build quality for something this price and from Toyota. 

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Subaru. Toyota's only bumpers, audio headunit, front lights and fuel injection system. Even by VIN code it's assembled in Subaru's factory. It's possible that even toyota badges are made by subaru :D. Many of those faults can be found in other subarus aswell. Window scratches on frameless windows? Check. Rattling interior & especially rattling foldable rear seat U latches? Check. BUT! I still love my car despite all flaws :) for all the driving fun it provides, and all the somewhat close alternatives are worse as overall package, especially if one leaves price among evaluated properties. Possibly only MX5 would have been as good of alternative .. if i'd fit in it :(

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7 hours ago, Cerastes said:

Most of these issues should have been sorted under warranty by previous owners. I must admit I'm not familiar with a lot of those you listed. 

However, there is an issue I have encountered and apparently others have reported it. The electric windows scratching the glass. 

I'm not impressed with the amount of issues I have had owning my gt86. Some common and some that only I have encountered as far as I know. Compared to my previous car swift sport, I had absolutely no issues with owning it for 4 or 5 years. I regret selling it. 

I've had the rust under bonnet.

The scratching of electric windows.

The rubber door sill on drivers side gets pulled away from seal when window closes. 

When you put the rear seats flat and then put them back. The latches/buttons almost come lose. 

I guess we can all list the battery as an issue? Or maybe it was intended to be a low capacity battery. 

 

Edit: maybe I'm nitpicking, but I expect better build quality for something this price and from Toyota. 

I saw a Boxster with heavily scratched windows the other day. I know Toyota benchmarked the Cayman so maybe they thought it was a design feature. Mine mostly stay closed; the car has climate control (I think even the Primo had a basic A/C) so you don't really need them open.

 

I haven't experienced any of the issues in that first post, but my car is a later MY16 and some (e.g. coil packs) had been fixed by then.

The issues with conrods and oil starvation only apply to heavily modified cars as far as I'm aware; the rods don't like big torque from taking FI too far, and oil starvation comes from running slicks on track.

Fuel pump is just some noise, nothing actually wrong AFAIK.

 

In short, if you go on the internet looking for common "problems" with any car, you're going to find them, and the people that have experienced them will be vocal telling you about them. People don't, generally, go online telling the world if they've never had a problem with their car.

Assuming you're buying a used car, it's probably not going to be 100% perfect anyway.

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11 hours ago, Leejay-b said:

The BRZ / GT86 has been on my radar since release.

I am being put off by the long list of potential issues which I know the internet makes worse but some seem common and even if not they could be very expensive...

Minor:

1.Rust near rear quarter window

2.Rust under bonnet strip

3.Oil leaks

Major: NOTE I will be staying N/A if that reduces any of the following risks:

1.Fuel pump

2.Con rods 

3.Con rod bearings

4.Oil starvation

5.Injector seals

6.Coil packs

Oh dear quite a list. With that many majors I think I will have to drop thoughts of one of these cars which is a shame as I am a big fan :-(

 

Mine's 5 years old and has done a little over 60K miles. From your first list I've had rust on the quarter lights (warranty replaced) but not the other issues.

From your second list I've had a new fuel pump under warranty (fitted before I bought the car) and no other issues.

It's not been an unreliable car at all, barely any time in the garage other than routine servicing and accident damage. The lack of a turbo and other highly stressed parts really helps I think.

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Over 5 years, 45k miles on mine. Oil leak which will be fixed by a replacement cam plate cover, but none of the other issues. The engine issues are almost ALL related to FI cars, you pays your money you takes your risk. Buy a car with remaining warranty and you don't have to worry.

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I really wouldnt be put off by those issues. Providing you buy a car that has been properly maintained, about the only issue you are going to experience really is the coil pack one. I would not count that as a major issue. You will rarely even notice a coil pack going apart from the EML coming on. They cost £87 for a new one and if you've still got warranty that shouldn't be a problem to get it replaced. 

I have done 119K miles in five and a half years. I stick to the service schedule, I am never late with this. I have gone through all four coil packs in that time. I had a slight oil leak on the cam plate fixed under warranty at around 60K miles. I've had a CV joint go and replaced under warranty, though that is probably caused by lowering. 

My under bonnet strip is rusty, but I don't really care about that. Cheap to replace anyway. 

Engine failures are rare and as everyone else has said, relate more to cars with forced induction which is always going to be a lottery on a car that was designed to be NA. Also there are a lot of numpties out there who dont get their cars serviced on time, don't use OEM oil and don't let their car warm up properly before booting it. My experience of having one of the highest mileage cars in the UK that has included four years of sprinting, track days from when it was run in and a tuned engine with remap, manifold and all that, is that they are hardy cars indeed, providing you look after them. I would still think nothing of driving to Italy to mine with the mileage it has, which I have done twice already. Last year I drove right out to the Harz region of Germany at high speed in places on the autobahn. No problem. I use my car every day, it has never let me down. 

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If you go looking for reliability problems you will find them. Like you would anything else you search for. You will find issues with any car.

 

In a nutshell the car is reliable and is no different to any other. All your major concerns are rare occurrences. Dig deeper and you will have a better understanding. If you don't buy one based on this, shame, will be your loss really as there isn't much to be concerned about.

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Thanks all, genuinely pleased as I think the car is a great platform and was starting to get over concerned with issues. 

Part of the worry is being used to Honda and just servicing with very few problems. 

I would stay N/A with no track use so minimises risk. Just need to be careful not to buy a second hand one that has previously been charged or heavily tracked. 

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13 hours ago, Leejay-b said:

Just need to be careful not to buy a second hand one that has previously been charged or heavily tracked. 

Tracked cars are well looked after as they are enthusiast owned and again boosted cars I would say the same applies however I would not want to buy one that has been boosted and put back to standard.

Tricky to find out unless the owner tells you or if its back in the trade unless you can find it on the forums its pot luck.

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I was genuinely surprised at the thread title and thought you must have mistyped :lol:

I have rarely read of the more serious issues you've posted over here. As Deacon said they seem to be more common across the US.

Fingers crossed I've not had any of the issues yet other than an occasionally crickety fuel pump which as said doesn't actually affect the car in any way. Ive had my car a year and it's a 15 plate with 23k miles and a fsh. 

Sure the interior rattles and things aren't as well put together as my previous bmw m135i but it kind of works with this car and adds to the relationship and driver involvement in a way :huh:

Buy one and you won't regret it! 

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20 hours ago, Leejay-b said:

Thanks all, genuinely pleased as I think the car is a great platform and was starting to get over concerned with issues. 

Part of the worry is being used to Honda and just servicing with very few problems. 

I would stay N/A with no track use so minimises risk. Just need to be careful not to buy a second hand one that has previously been charged or heavily tracked. 

I think you'll find it much the same as the Honda in that respect. 

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My car is 5 years old (had from new), and have to say in terms of faults/warranty issues it is the most reliable I have ever had, much more so than my MkII Skoda Octavia vRS that I also had from new and which was a lovely car but had quite a lot of minor things that went wrong on it that needed trips to the dealer. I sold it in the end as I was getting increasingly worried about rising reports of timing chain failures with the TSI engines that caused the engines to be damaged beyond repair and that VAG was refusing to  compensate for out of warranty. 

I am not aware of any serious issues showing up in any numbers on our cars, and more than 8 years after release we should be hearing about them if they existed, so my view is that this is a reliable car.

As to the minor issues, they are very minor I think.  The rust issue isn;t really a rust issue as most people would understand it. The bonnet strip is just a cheap metal strip that holds the rubber seal at the front of the bonnet, it is screwed onto the plastic bumper so if it rusts it only rusts itself, it does't spread to anything important, and most importantly I think the part to replace costs less than a tenner (and anyone can diy replace it in less than 10mins). The quarter light rust again is not a big issue, it doesn't spread to anywhere important (it is just the bar at the side of the window), can be easily stopped with rust preventer spray, and again if it needs replacing it can be done very cheaply at the next service.

I must admit I was looking around recently at perhaps getting something else, but seriously nothing at the right price caught my eye as nothing at this price level really compares for the £ for fun factor. Of course spend a lot more and you would have a Cayman perhaps, but do you want to spend a lot more? So currently if I replace it will be with another GT86 and I don't think you can get a better recommendation than that :)

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I personally cant fault the cars even one bit.

Short of having to get a better battery and having my squeaky passenger window repaired under warranty, i’ve not had any problems with my 2014 car.

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I think people have mostly covered this, just to add that the thing to remember when browsing forum is that they are always skewed towards the negative; nobody is ever going to start a thread to say "6 years on and no issues!" and many people will pop on here only to ask a question if something goes wrong. In terms of my own experience, mine is a 2013 model with 44k on the clock, like most I had the original battery replaced, the front quarter light rust and the scratched windows - all replaced under warranty.

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